By Angela Hatton
Frankfort, KY – Political experts say Republican U.S. Senator Jim Bunning's decision to not seek re-election may give the GOP a better chance of retaining his seat. The 77-year-old Bunning announced yesterday he wouldn't seek election to a third term next year. Bunning had been considered one of the nation's most vulnerable GOP senators and had been having problems raising cash. George Mason University associate professor Michael P. McDonald says Democrats stood a "fairly good chance of defeating" Bunning had he stayed in the race. Now, McDonald says, with Bunning gone it's in a "much stronger" position for Republicans to keep. The move clears the way for Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson and Bowling Green doctor Rand Paul, among others, to enter the GOP fray.